Gruff Rhys
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Gruff Rhys (pronounced [grɪf r̥iːs]; born July 18, 1970 in Haverfordwest (Welsh: Hwlffordd) in south-west Wales) is a member of the Super Furry Animals who were at the forefront of the wave of successful Welsh bands which broke through into the mainstream music scene in the 1990s.
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[edit] Musical career
[edit] Ffa Coffi Pawb
After playing drums for the band Emily, Gruff Rhys found fame in Wales as the front man of Ffa Coffi Pawb. Translated, the name means 'everyone's coffee beans', though if said quickly in Welsh, it can sound like 'Fuck off everyone'.
On signing to Ankstmusik, Ffa Coffi Pawb became one of the leading bands on the Welsh music scene, and released three albums - Clymhalio, Dalec Peilon and Hei Vidal!'.
[edit] Super Furry Animals
When Ffa Coffi Pawb disbanded in 1993, Gruff and drummer Dafydd Ieuan, of Rhoscefnhir, Anglesey, who had played for Catatonia, Anrhefn, Hanner Pei and many other Welsh language bands, formed the basis of the Super Furry Animals.
The final line-up now consists of Gruff on vocals, Dafydd on drums, Daf's brother Cian Ciaran (formerly of WWZZ) on keyboards, Huw Bunford (formerly of U-Thant) on guitar and Guto Pryce on bass.
In 1995 they signed to Creation Records. Apparently, when offering them the deal after a gig, Alan McGee, head of Creation, asked that they sing more songs in English. Gruff pointed out that all the songs that night had been in English.
The Super Furries went on to release of their critically-acclaimed first album, Fuzzy Logic, in 1996 - the first time Gruff had recorded songs in English. He later observed that his singing sounded like a random collection of accents - but it was nevertheless very successful.
Follow-up albums included Radiator in 1997, Guerrilla in 1999 and Mwng, a Welsh-language CD, in 2000. They also became particularly famous for their 40 foot inflatable bears and the SFA blue tank, which toured summer festivals playing techno music at high volume.
The Super Furries made a further mark on history in July 2001, when they released their latest album, Rings Around the World, on CD and DVD simultaneously.
In 2003 they released Phantom Power, again to critical acclaim, but failed to make any true impact on the charts.
The band's latest album, Love Kraft, was released in 2005.
Gruff plays the guitar in a unique style. He is left handed and learnt to play on his brothers right handed guitar. Rather than invert the nut and re-string it he taught himself to play a right handed guitar upside down so the bass strings are on the bottom.
[edit] Collaborations with other artists
Rhys has occasionally collaborated with other artists, providing vocals for the track "Dial: Revenge" on the Mogwai album Rock Action as well as guesting on the songs "Fear of Guitars" (from the album Machine Says Yes by FC Kahuna) and "Do's and Don'ts" (by Boom Bip).
[edit] Solo
On 24 January, 2005, Gruff Rhys released his first solo album, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, to critical acclaim, on the Placid Casual label. A tour of Wales and several festival appearances followed.
His second solo album, Candylion, is due for release in 2007.
[edit] Discography
- Albums
